Costa Rica- a Land Rich in History and Culture

Nearly five centuries ago, an Italian explorer stood on the deck of his ship, scanning the coastline of Central America in search of a passageway to the Indian Ocean. He didn't find what he sought after, but what he did discover in the year 1502 was the country christened Costa Rica, meaning "Rich Coast."

The explorer was Christopher Columbus, who, sailing under the flag of Spain, founded Costa Rica while on his fourth and last voyage to the New World. Impressed by the gold ornaments worn by the native people, he and other explorers had hoped to find the land full of gold ore. Instead, the area yielded little in precious metals. However, Costa Rica is rich in other areas, including its history, beautiful countryside, culture and wildlife. Costa Rica is one of the seven nations that form present-day Central America.

Flanked by the Atlantic's Caribbean Sea on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west, Costa Rica has a line of high, rugged mountain ranges stretching from the Nicaraguan border on the north to the Panamanian border on the southeast.

Among Costa Rica's highest peaks are active volcanoes, including the Irazu Volcano, a lively magma spewer that stands over 11,000 feet above sea level. Irazu has erupted at least 23 times since the early 1700s. Its most famous recent eruption began in 1963 and coincided with the presidential visit of John F. Kennedy.

Lush tropical forests thrive in the lower altitudes along the coast, where the climate is hot and damp. Untouched islands and hidden waterfalls dot the topography of Costa Rica's picturesque landscape.

The majority of Costa Rica's four million inhabitants have settled along the cool, high, central plateau around the capital and largest city, San Jose, where coffee trees dress the hillsides and encircle the city. A great majority of the population is Mestizo and white, and mainly of Spanish descent. Costa Rica also has a small Indian population. Spanish is the official language, and the state religion is Roman Catholicism, although non-Catholic religions also exist freely.

When the Spanish explorers arrived at the dawn of the 16th century, they found the region populated by several poorly organized, autonomous tribes. In all, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous tribesmen inhabiting the land. Although human habitation can be traced back at least 10,000 years, the region had remained sparsely populated. High mountains and swampy lowlands had impeded migration of any of the surrounding advanced cultures.

The region continues to be a potpourri of small, distinct cultures. In the east along the Caribbean seaboard and along the southern Pacific shores, the original peoples were traditional nomadic hunters and fishermen who raised yucca, squash, and tubers, chewed coca, and lived in communal village huts surrounded by fortified palisades. These early matriarchal inhabitants had a highly developed slave system and were accomplished goldsmiths. They were also responsible for the fascinating, perfectly spherical granite orbs that can be found in large numbers at ancient burial sites.

The Spanish Monarchy attempted various expeditions to establish control, and after a few unsuccessful excursions, by the 1560s several Spanish cities had settled in the region. Prompted by Philip II of Spain, settlers in the city of Guatemala thought it time to move into Costa Rica and Christianize the natives. However, onsetting diseases like opthalmia, smallpox, and tuberculosis had already taken their toll on the natives, causing the majority of the survivors to find refuge amid the remote valleys of the Talamanca Mountains.

In 1562, Juan Vasquez de Coronado arrived as governor of Costa Rica. He treated the surviving Indians more humanely and moved the existing Spanish settlers into the Cartago Valley, where the temperate climate and rich volcanic soils offered the promise of crop cultivation. Cartago was established as the national capital in 1563.
The economic and social development of the Spanish provinces was traditionally the work of the soldiers, who were granted encomiendas or land holdings which allowed for rights to the use of indigenous serfs.

In the course of history, Costa Rica broke away from Spain and gained its independence. Central America ceded from Spain in 1821 on the coattails of Mexico's declaration earlier in the same year. Independence had little immediate effect, however, for Costa Rica had required only minimal government during the colonial era and had long gone its own way. In fact, the country was so out of touch that the news that independence had been granted reached Costa Rica a full month after the event.

Nevertheless, Costa Rica continued its progressive evolution, and by the 1860s capital punishment had been abolished, the power of rising coffee barons was tamed, and the use of the army for political means was all but done away with. Coffee earnings and taxation financed roads and public buildings. And in a landmark revision to the Constitution in 1869, education for both sexes was made obligatory, free, and at the cost of the Nation.

Social and economic progress continued throughout the 20^th century. Historically, Costa Rica enjoyed greater peace and more consistent political stability compared with many of the surrounding Latin American nations. In 1949, after a brief civil war, the country became unique in modern history by abolishing its national army. This radical move encouraged American Quakers and other settlers to move to Costa Rica, bringing industry and foreign exchange in the country's three main cash crops: bananas, pineapples and coffee.

Tourism has recently become a major business. Costa Rica's verdant surroundings continue to awe and attract visitors to the tune of two million annual tourists. Thriving flora, cultivated flower nurseries and strawberry farms are but a gleam of what the land produces. The huge leaves of the sombrilla del pobre (poor person's plant) stand out against the tiny reddish berries of the dark green coffee bushes.

Another example of the variety in the wild is the diverse birdlife of Costa Rica. Flocks of green parakeets make noisy entries wherever they go. Soaring above are black vultures, searching keen-eyed for a meal. In the forest canopy, toucans with their massive beaks rest on tangled vines. Raucous macaws, owls, finches, and kiskadees attract bird watchers with binoculars in hand.

Not to be outdone by the aviary, butterflies share the skies and can be found everywhere. Close to San Jose, butterfly farms breed and allow tourists to see fascinating species in their natural setting. There is considered more butterflies in Costa Rica than in the entire United States. In fact, Costa Rica is renowned for its wide variety of insect, plant, and wildlife. National parks, Indian reserves and wildlife refugees see to it that Costa Rica's precious natural world remains protected. Close to one fourth of the land is safeguarded; because of this, Costa Rica proudly possesses the greatest density of species in the world.